Missing
by CrispyBaconbits
Summary: It's been 2 years, and he feels like he's the only one who still cares. I would say the rating is a hard T. Warning: Dark themes. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

"Hey guys, I've got a job interview to go to so I'm gonna head out early." Everyone looked up from their books around the study table and smiled at Annie. "You got your key, right Annie?" Troy asked. Annie smiled. "Yep, I'll see you too at home." They all waved after her before returning to their books until about an hour later when Britta finally deemed everyone ready for their Biology test tomorrow.

Troy and Abed casually made their way up to room 303, chatting about their growing excitement for the release of _The Dark Knight Rises. _"I hope it's similar to the comic books! In Knightfall, Bane actually broke Batman's back! That'd be awesome to see in the movie!" Troy said enthusiastically. Abed smirked at him while turning the key to their apartment. "I just hope that it's actually good. Trilogies can either end on a very good note, or very bad note. Take a look at Return of the King and Spiderman 3." When the two of them entered their apartment, it was eerily quiet. Annie should have been home from her interview by now. "Annie! We're home!" Troy yelled.

No answer.

They checked her room, the blanket fort and even the Dreamatorium but she was nowhere to be found. "Maybe she did some grocery shopping or something?" Troy asked. Abed nodded slightly. "Yeah, let's hope so. Why don't we just watch Inspector Spacetime while we wait for her?" Troy suddenly smiled wide. "Awesome!" he said giddily. With that the two of them plopped onto their armchairs and turned on the television.

_2 years later. _

Jeff waited patiently at Britta's door in his suit. For the first time ever, he wished he was wearing something, _anything_ else. He still couldn't believe that the six of them were doing this. Just because it had been two years didn't mean they should give up hope. And that meant a lot coming from _Jeff _of all people. Britta opened the door, looking modest in a black dress that Jeff couldn't believe a girl like her even owned. They looked at each other for a moment before simply saying "Let's go" at the same time.

The car ride was silent. Jeff could tell Britta didn't mind, but it was eating away at him. He knew however, that the one thing that he did want to talk about would start yet another argument between the two of them. So, he just tightened his grip on the steering wheel and sped up slightly. They were halfway to the funeral home before Jeff finally pulled over the car. Britta looked at him knowingly.

"Jeff...listen I know-"He interrupted her. "You don't know. Stop saying you know how I feel, because you don't. Britta, let me tell you what you DO know. You know that Annie is still out there. You know that you don't wanna give up hope, but you're still going to do it to appease the rest of the group. Just because we're the only ones left who still know we can save her doesn't mean we have to stop looking. Even her goddamn parents gave up hope! But she's still out there! I know she is!" Britta wasn't angry that Jeff had interrupted her. She just looked at him sadly. "Jeff, it's been two years since Annie has gone missing, and one year since we've graduated. I admit that I think this funeral procession is a little bit premature for my tastes, but like I've told you many times before, we need to get on with our lives. You're a lawyer now, and I'm working towards my doctorate in psychology. Shirley's bakery business is finally starting to take off, and Abed and Troy are moving to California. Even Pierce has finally gotten his new business off of his feet! Jeff, listen. We can't keep doing this. The police haven't moved on, because it's their job. I think it's time to just leave it up to them."

Jeff just stared out the window. He hated how useless he felt right now. He also hated that everyone seemed to accept that Annie was gone. But he figured that he might as well just accept that everyone else had given up. He sure hadn't. And he didn't need their help.

He didn't say anything as he started up the car again. Britta returned to her comfortable silence as they started driving to the funeral home again. She grasped his hand slightly and whispered "Thank you" as they drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie's job interview went great. Actually, it went better than great. _It went fantastic._ For someone who always thought that they could have done better somehow, Annie left that law office feeling more content than ever. She was confident that her call back about a potential internship was as guaranteed as finding Troy and Abed in the Dreamatorium when she got home. This also reminded her that the two of them would be so engrossed in whatever goes on in that room, so _she_ would have to make dinner still tonight. Annie sighed. "So not in the mood...I just wanna relax now."

She figured she'd just pick up a pizza or something for them. It's not like the boys would ever reject pizza anyway. So, Annie hopped into her car and went to the nearest pizza parlour, which was a place called Lorenzo's. She was actually pretty familiar with it, since it was close to her old apartment.

When Annie walked in, Lorenzo greeted her like they were best friends. Annie loved Lorenzo; he was such a cheery man for running a pizza parlour in a terrible neighborhood. He beamed at her when she walked in. "Ah! Annie! It's been a while! You too busy to come down and visit anymore? You're one of my most valued customers, you know!" Annie smirked at him. She knew Lorenzo was just humouring her. Even when she did live here, she didn't get pizza from this place that often. However, she knew she was likely one of the only non-creepy weirdos that visited Lorenzo more than once, so she was happy to go along with it. "I know, I'm sorry, Lorenzo! But I'm actually living with my two friends in an apartment now." At this, the older man smiled. "A good decision, Annie. This neighborhood is not kind to innocent young girls such as you! Bwahahahaha!" Annie just laughed at him. She appreciated the old man's flare for life even at his old age. But she quickly remembered why she was here. "So anyways, I'm gonna need a large pepperoni to go. I really don't feel like making dinner tonight, I'm really tired..." Lorenzo just smiled at her happily as usual. In all the years that she knew this man, she never once saw the smile leave his face. "Absolutely! Give me 10 minutes, yeah?" Annie nodded, and went to sit at an unoccupied table where she waited patiently.

Annie wanted to text Troy to tell them she was going to be a little late, but her phone had died sometime after leaving her job interview. It wasn't a big deal; it wouldn't take her more than 20 minutes to get home anyway. So she just started surveying the pizza parlour that seemed so foreign to her now. It really hadn't been that long since she'd been here, but since everyday with Troy and Abed was a rollercoaster of new experiences for her, it felt weird being here again. Just then, she thought she noticed a man looking at her from behind his newspaper. When she looked again, his face was once again shielded by Greendale's top story. She thought nothing of it and went back to surveying the room.

Then she heard his voice.

"Rough day, I'm assuming?" the man asked. She was a little startled, but was willing to make small talk nonetheless. "You could say that." He looked somewhat intrigued, now. "Care to share while we wait for our pizzas?" Annie let out a little chuckle. This guy was a little peculiar. Even though she only really knew him for a minute now, he seemed to radiate self confidence. He looked a little strange though. He was a rather big man, and looked around Jeff's age if she had to guess. "I just came from a job interview with a prestigious law firm. I'm really hoping to get an internship there." The man then abruptly got up from his own seat and sat across from Annie at her table. "Wow. Sounds like you're going places, kid. You look pretty smart too; I bet you'll get that job. My name's Ray, by the way." Annie smiled inwardly at Ray's unintentional rhyme and beamed at him. "Thanks! That means a lot, really. I'm Annie." She outstretched her hand, and he shook it. She pulled away after he seemed to be holding it for a little too long, but kept smiling anyway. Lorenzo chose this moment to return to the front of the pizza parlour. "Ah! Annie! Your pizza is ready, fresh as the day you were born!" She laughed at him and went up to pay. She then took her pizza, waving to Ray and smiling as walked out the door. "Bye, Ray! It was nice to meet you!" Ray just smiled at her and returned to his newspaper. "We'll be more acquainted soon enough, Annie." He waited about two minutes before folding up the paper neatly and leaving the parlour himself. He hadn't ordered any pizza.

Annie walked to her car with a smile on her face. That Ray guy really made her feel good. It felt nice. She knew she probably wouldn't have gotten that admiration from Troy and Abed. They were awesome, but she'd bet any money that they probably forgot about her even having a job interview as soon as she left the library earlier today. Whatever, it didn't matter anyway. They'd find out eventually, as with everyone else. Speaking of everyone else, Annie couldn't wait to tell Jeff about her potential internship. She had made a point of applying to other firms, but purposely bombed the interviews she got with them. She secretly wanted to work close to Jeff after they graduated, and if he knew that she had applied to other firms, he wouldn't question her being there.

Things had been going great with Jeff. He had been on and off with admitting he had feelings for her, and although it irritated her to no end, one thing was consistent. He was actually talking to her a lot more. She was afraid he'd realize what he was doing and be elusive again, but if he did realize they talked more, he didn't show it. It was comforting, and made her heart warm. She knew Jeff, and them hanging out more often than with the rest of the group was a huge step in whatever you called their little relationship.

She was still thinking about him as she reached her car. She cursed herself for parking so far away; it was cold out. Before opening her car door, she took a moment to tighten up her scarf a bit.

She didn't have to.

Annie's scarf was yanked from behind her, startling her and choking her at the same time. When she tried to turn around and show whoever this jerk was what 3 years of self defense had taught her, a large hand covered her mouth as she was painfully kneed in the back several times. She continued to struggle, but he had wrapped his other arm around her waist and arms and held tight, preventing her from moving. She heard his sigh in frustration and knew he was getting fed up with her squirming in his big arms. So, the man decided to take another route. He removed his hand from her mouth, allowing her to let out very high pitched screams and yell "help" several times, but suddenly her hair was grabbed harshly from behind her head. Before she realized what was happening, her head was rammed into the window of the car beside hers. She felt blood running down her forehead as she was viciously thrown into the vehicle. As she started to feel herself losing consciousness, she thought she saw Ray's face.

After that, everything went black.

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><p>AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been busy. Reviews are welcome as always!


	3. Chapter 3

Troy jutted awake suddenly in his armchair with popcorn all over his stomach. He rubbed his eyes wearily and looked over at Abed. His best friend was in a similar position to him, except he was still asleep. Sunlight was shining brightly through the windows, and Troy's whole body ached from being in one position the whole night. _Must've fallen asleep before she got home, I wonder where she went last night. _He glanced at the clock above the Television. It read 12:47. Troy smiled to himself. Annie never slept this late, if she did go out celebrating her job interview last night then she had a good time. But then he felt insulted and upset. Why had she not even called them or told them where she was going? And why weren't they invited? "Maybe she texted me." He shook Abed's arm gently. "Abed, c'mon man wake up." When Abed finally opened his eyes he groaned slightly before looking at Troy. "What's the time?" Troy had gotten up now, and was looking for his phone. "It's 12:50, have you seen my phone?" Abed took it off the coffee table right in front of them and tossed it to him. "Did Annie come home last night?" he asked. Troy shrugged. "I'm assuming she did, but whatever she did it must have really tired her out because she's still asleep. Wow! She never even texted me to say she was even gonna be home late!" Abed had gotten up casually and started towards Annie's bedroom door. "It probably just died or something, her phone has terrible battery life. I know because of that time we were filming here and my actual video camera was busted so I had to use the one on her phone. It died in the middle of production." He then lightly knocked on Annie's door. "Annie? It's Abed. I think maybe you should wake up now." There was no answer. He tried knocking again, before Troy just opened the door. "Annie, it's almost 1, and you promised to make us your famous blueberry pancakes this morn-"

Her bed was made neatly like always, but it lacked the key element they were looking for. Troy looked even more confused, and Abed simply cocked his head to the side slightly. "Troy, I think maybe we should call the group."

* * *

><p>Annie woke up in a bed. Actually, it was more of a cot. More importantly, she wasn't at home. Almost instantly, she started freaking out and wanted to frantically scan the room for signs of someone else, but as soon as she sat up, she felt like she was having the worst stress headache known to man. She cried out, closed her eyes and rubbed her throbbing head, before her eyes widened in surprise a second later. There were bandages on her forehead. <em>What the heck is going on?<em> Annie tried to remember what happened last night, but she couldn't seem to remember anything after leaving Lorenzo's. She felt uneasy and decided to try and find someone who could explain last night's events to her. Sure, she was ecstatic about her job interview, but she was almost positive she never partied or anything. She concluded that she likely had received a concussion somehow, which would explain her lack of memory at the moment.

It was around this time that Annie took a look at her surroundings. She gasped when she realized that she was in a _basement. _And it wasn't a basement where a group of friends hungout, it was a basement that was cold, damp and smelled pretty awful. The one thing that frightened her most however, was how eerily quiet it was. She couldn't hear any kind of sound except her own breathing. She realized that she wasn't wearing her own clothes either. She remembered having on her yellow cardigan, black skirt and black stockings on when she had went to her job interview that day. Now, she was wearing a plain, grey t-shirt that was riddled with stains, and...that was it. She didn't have pants on. She was still wearing her underwear, but she had nothing else on. At this realization, Annie started to get really scared. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know where her stuff was, and she clearly didn't have her own clothes on. She ignored the pain throbbing in her head and went to search for the door. When she found it, she tugged on it as best she could, but it didn't budge. Annie groaned in frustration. The room had no windows, and only had a single light that was flickering endlessly. There was no sign of and potential escape routes. She sat back down on her dirty old cot and felt tears welling up in her eyes. It wasn't long until they fell.

She was all alone, and she was helpless.

* * *

><p>Everyone gathered at the apartment. The police were also here, and were currently talking to both Troy and Abed. Shirley was in a constant state of panic, and Britta was spending almost an hour now trying to calm her down. "Shirley, listen to me. We don't even know if anything bad happened yet, alright? And it's only been a day so she can't be far," said Britta reassuringly.<p>

Meanwhile Pierce was sitting in Abed's armchair looking rather despondent. Annie was his favourite; he was sure the no one would believe him if he mentioned it, but it was true. To Pierce, Annie was the only person in the group that he couldn't find any flaws in. He had even embraced her being Jewish wholeheartedly (something that in his mind was a big step in growing as a person). But now, she was gone. He might never get to tell her she was his favourite. After all his step daughters had hated his guts, Annie had put up with him for 3 years. He might not get to tell her that she was like a daughter to him. It bothered him immensely.

And Jeff...Jeff was just in deep thought. His mind had been tearing itself apart ever since Abed had called him and the rest of the group hours ago. Everything about whatever was going on with him and Annie had decided to enter his mind all at once. He suddenly remembered all of their moments they've had together, and he realized that maybe it wasn't crazy when she had mentioned "the Annie of it all" to him over a year ago. This year, his shrink had told him to stop running away from his feelings, but it was easier said than done. However, Jeff had resolved to at least consistently talk to her more and not shut her out, despite how uncomfortable he felt about it. He owed her that much.

But now this had happened, and he was remembering what he had missed out on. What if he had actually reciprocated Annie's feelings after the Transfer Dance? What if that had lead to a serious relationship? What if it surprisingly worked out, and Jeff realized that he didn't care what people thought about their age difference? What if it didn't take him three years to figure all this out? His mind was flooded with so many questions, but one thing was clear as day: he missed her already. He suddenly realized how much he needed Annie in his life. He was just some snobby douche until she and all his other lovable friends had come along. But now, she was gone, and so was a part of Jeff. He hated himself for only realizing this now. He did want to be in a serious relationship with her. He wanted her, and if, no, when he found her, he would tell her that.

He wasn't going to stop looking until he got the chance.

The police had immediately started a city wide search. The study group had put signs up on every street corner, and Jeff had taken it upon himself to go with the cops to every place Annie had been that night. They started at the law firm that Annie had went to for her job interview, which Abed claimed was the firm they had gone to when Jeff was reacquainted with Alan. This made Jeff feel even worse. Annie had probably wanted to get an internship here, and knowing her, she probably wanted to hold off on telling Jeff because he'd get all freaked out. He felt like crap. He was such a coward, and he hated that it only took her disappearing for him to realize it.

Then they went to Annie's old neighborhood and searched everywhere starting from her old apartment to places that they figured she might have visited once or twice. Literally no place was out of the question. Except Dildopolis, of course. Her parents had also been notified and questioned of her disappearance, and despite her mother and father's genuine concern for their daughter's whereabouts, they seemed relatively calm. It sickened Jeff to his stomach. He felt his heart wrench for Annie. He knew what it was like to have a parent that didn't really care about him, but he couldn't imagine having that feeling with both.

Finally, 5 days later, the cops had found a lead. A pizza parlour about 2 blocks from Annie's apartment called Lorenzo's was apparently visited by Annie on her way home from her job interview that day. The owner had claimed that she wanted to pick up pizza because she had a rough day and didn't want to cook. He also described a man that he saw her talking to, who had left shortly after she did. He said that the man hadn't ordered any pizza and was simply reading a newspaper, but he never questioned why he was there in the first place.

Jeff felt a burning anger rise up inside of him. He didn't know why, but he knew that this man was the culprit. If he had found him, he was going to wring his neck, and maybe even snap it. The cops had told him that they could take the situation from here on out, but Jeff didn't want to give up. He wanted to find this man himself. He wanted to make him suffer. He wanted to find Annie.

* * *

><p>It had been 5 days. 5, extremely long and sleepless days. Annie had remembered what happened to her about 2 hours after initially waking up, and spent the first 3 days fighting against Ray fiercely every time he wanted to have his way with her. He would often laugh at her futile attempts to resist his advances, telling her that "if she wanted to work in law, she'd have to be able to talk her way out of sticky situations." It always reached a point when he would get fed up with her struggling though, and that's when he would fight back. He would kick and punch her and occasionally choke her as well. This would usually persist until she finally gave in, causing him to say those horrifying two words, "Good girl."<p>

She tried to block out what happened after that. She felt mortified and ashamed. She had never in a million years imagined this happening to her, although she assumed most people didn't. She probably cried more than she ever had in her entire life, which was saying something considering some of the things she's had to go through in her past. She wanted someone, anyone to help her.

She wanted Jeff.

Annie also wished that she knew something, anything about where she was. Was she in her old neighborhood? Was she even in Greendale still? What if she wasn't even in the state anymore? These thoughts kept brewing inside of her head, and soon whatever hope she had of leaving was completely erased from her brain.

She was probably going to die here.


	4. Chapter 4

Annie wanted a window. Rather, she wanted some kind of connection to the outside world. It had been 6 months, and she was _still_ in the basement. Ray tried to appear like he was human on some level; her tiny room now had a light that didn't flicker, an 8 inch television, her bed now had a blanket, and he had even given her a mini fridge that he re-stocked occasionally. She still had to only eat once a day though, or once every two days, as the fridge didn't hold much and Ray didn't even bother to fill it completely for her. Annie realized that among the terrible new array of feelings she was being introduced to, starvation was one of the worst. She became somewhat adept at portion control, and was sure that she had lost at least 20 pounds.

But Annie had also begun to start _losing_ feelings. A good example of this was her ability to be embarrassed. Although Ray's "special visits" had become somewhat infrequent and far apart, they still happened, and when they were over Annie had begun to start losing the feeling of being ashamed. She was starting to just...accept it.

It scared her to death.

* * *

><p>4 weeks after what Annie started calling her worst nightmare had begun, Ray had started to become repulsed by her. She hadn't had a shower in almost a month, and she could tell it bothered him. So, he installed one in the corner of her room. It was through this that Annie assumed Ray was a plumber of some kind, and it was also the first act of "kindness" (if you wanted to call it that) he had shown her, as she was quite repulsed by her own stench herself. But in the end, this only attributed further to Annie losing her sense of humanity. The shower had no curtain, and Ray usually took great pleasure in <em>watching <em>her, threatening to remove it completely if she didn't comply. So once again, Annie was left with no choice. The first time was utterly humiliating, but now, 6 months later, it just felt normal.

Annie often wondered how she had not gone insane after being cooped up down here for so long. Then again, maybe she _was_ starting to lose her sanity. Ray didn't frighten her anymore, she felt like on some level he was keeping her alive. It was a feeling that left her somewhat grateful. She found herself thinking less and less about things that weren't associated to Ray. Her television only had 2 channels on it, one of which simply had infomercials running constantly. The other channel was terrible quality, but seemed to be the news for Salt Lake City Utah, so obviously Annie assumed this was where she was. But she only cried once a week now, and above all, she felt lonely. She hated being alone here. She just wanted someone to keep her company, and the only one who could was Ray.

So she wanted Ray.

* * *

><p>Greendale Community College's library was quiet. While this doesn't seem surprising at first, the library was also the meeting place for Jeff Winger's study group, and they had a reputation for doing some pretty odd things in Study Room A. So yeah, all things considered, it was weird. There was no one around the so called "magic" table anymore. Every seat was empty, although one looked emptier than the others...<p>

On the first day of his final year, Jeff had taken one look inside that room and decided to never step foot in the library again. All he needed to see was Annie's chair and everything came back. The investigation that was going nowhere, not being able to see her big blue eyes and wonderful smile, and the thought that Annie might be...

No.

She wasn't dead. She was not dead. She was still out there. It had almost been a year now at this point but Jeff had never changed his resolve to find her. Once he was back at Greendale, his first order of business was convincing the dean to immediately have a school wide awareness fundraiser to find Annie. He made sure everyone knew about her; about how she was a bright young woman with a bright future and who had all of that robbed from her a year ago. His personal campaign that he entitled "Save Annie" had begun to take over not only Greendale, but City College as well. Jeff could give two shits about their stupid rivalry; he would take any help he could get. This wasn't about which school was better, they were dealing with a person's life now, or more specifically, his best friend's.

Over the past year, he assembled the group to start helping out in any way they could. Troy and Abed had started trending #SaveAnnie on Twitter; they currently had over 150 000 followers combined. Shirley had brought Jeff's mission to her church, which then started devoting a portion of every mass to raising awareness. Pierce had used his experience as a businessman to convince local restaurants and bars to support the cause. Britta had contacted all of her old boyfriends, convincing them to try and raise awareness where they could. Jeff had spoken to his old firm, old colleagues and anyone else he knew to do the same. He had even brought the concern to his mother, who immediately began working towards raising awareness as well.

Finally, after getting the schools involved, Jeff's campaign had attracted the attention of more than just the local news. Save Annie was getting state-wide attention and Jeff had been interviewed on several occasions by several different broadcasting companies. Every time he did one, he made sure to emphasize just how much this campaign meant to him. He became recognized as a local hero in Greendale, but he didn't care.

He just wanted to find Annie.

Halfway through the year, Jeff's mission had become known across the entire state of Colorado. Although still not satisfied, Britta had convinced him that the situation was now starting to play itself out. They all needed to move on with their lives, get their degrees and graduate, and start their careers. Surely, any developments in the investigation would be known to the public immediately. It was time for him to finally start to move on with his own life. Although hesitant, Jeff figured that this was for the best. He was confident now that Annie would be found, and so he went started working harder than he ever had since starting at Greendale. Not because he wanted to get his degree and become a lawyer again, but because he wanted to do it for Annie. He couldn't wait to show her how much he'd grown as a person through the past year and a half, and also tell her she was the reason for it.

* * *

><p>She wondered what she looked like. She hadn't actually seen her own face in a very long time. She was beginning to forget all together, and to be honest, she didn't really want to look in a mirror. She was afraid of what she might see. Besides, all that mattered was Ray. She had become quite close to Ray. She was beginning to see him in a new light. He had been giving her more food in her mini fridge, and had attached a curtain to her shower. His "special visits" were even less frequent now too. A small part of her missed them now though. She supposed that was probably a bad thing, but she didn't care anymore. For the first time since being taken over a year and a half ago, she felt content in this basement. She didn't even call it a basement anymore.<p>

She called it home.

Annie never cried herself to sleep anymore. She actually slept quite well as of late. In her eyes, life was finally starting to look up again for the first time in over a year, and she didn't even know why. But she was way too careless at this point to question it. All she knew was that she didn't think of Ray as such a bad guy anymore. For her 21st birthday, he had brought her alcohol and they had spent the majority of the day in a drunken haze, dancing and acting stupid. Annie _adored_ alcohol now. It made her feel 10 times better here than it ever had before. The night of her birthday was spent having sex, and for the first time, she actually _enjoyed_ it. After that, everything was getting better and better. Ray would come downstairs more now, and it was just to hangout with her and make her feel wanted.

She _loved_ it.

* * *

><p>Then one day, she was sitting on the floor in front of her small TV as usual, watching the news, when something caught her attention. There was a picture of a man, who looked to be in his late 30s. Underneath his face were big letters that read "SAVE ANNIE". Her TV didn't have any volume, but she didn't need it. The man looked so familiar. He had hair that was styled to perfection and a smile that could probably make any girl swoon.<p>

Annie knew that smile.

"...Jeff?"

She hadn't even thought about Jeff in over a year now. At some point during her time here, she stopped caring about him. She didn't care about anything from before she ended up in her new home. But now because of that stupid smile, everything was coming back to her.

Jeff, Abed, Troy, Pierce, Britta, Shirley...Greendale. It was all there, like it had been lying dormant inside of her like some kind of virus. And now she felt sick. She was remembering everything, and a huge explosion of emotions had begun to pour out. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks, but she didn't feel sad. She felt confused, more specifically, detached. She didn't know why she was crying. She hadn't even thought about these people in over a year. They didn't matter anymore. What mattered was Ray. He was the only one she needed now.

But her mind had betrayed her. She couldn't stop thinking about her friends. And the memories started attacking her from all directions. The study room, the Dreamatorium, her old apartment, Biology, Anthropology, Spanish, Britta's stupid way of saying "bagel", Senor/student/security officer Chang, Troy's poorly named monkey, Pierce's painkillers, Jeff's hair, Shirley's "Miss Piggy" voice and of course, Abed's movie references. Annie just sad there, looking at the TV with disbelief.

_**Save Annie**_

"Save...me?" Annie looked around the room. What once looked like a room that had improved immensely over the past year had suddenly regressed back to the way she remembered waking up to it for the first time. She hated it. She felt claustrophobic, alone and disgusted. She had somehow been deluded into thinking that this way of living was alright, but now she wanted to leave more than anything. And Ray...how could she have become content with that man? He did horrible things to her. Things she can never forget. She had a life before she met that man, and now she had nothing. He took everything away from her. She hated him, and she hated being here. She didn't want to be here anymore.

For the first time in over a year, Annie wanted her life back.

* * *

><p>AN: Next Chapter is the last one! Although, I might add an epilogue. This Chapter took me a while so reviews are welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

Annie had been plotting an escape route for a while now. It had been about 2 weeks since she had seen Jeff on the TV, but she was a smart girl; she knew better than to mention it to Ray. The one thing that was key in her escape was Ray's growing trust for Annie. In over a year, he had become much lenient with what she could and couldn't do in the basement, and she figured it was only a matter of time before she was let upstairs for the first time. In order to keep that trust, Annie would have to keep up what she now realized was the charade of acting like she adored him. She had no problem with this, the last thing she wanted was to make it things go back to the way they started over a year and a half ago.

That was only Plan A though. Annie knew that it could still be while until she was let outside the basement, so she began devising another plan. This one involved being able to kill Ray, or at least knock him out long enough for her to get away. Ray always brought a key down with him when he visited her, unlocking and relocking the door when he left so fast that she had no chance of leaving. So Annie knew that he had the key with him at all times, and this meant that if she was able to get the key she could escape. It was funny...she had always known about the key, and yet getting it from him hadn't crossed her mind in so long. She shuttered; maybe she was insane.

But there was no time to think about any of that now. She needed a cool head if she was going to figure out a decent plan of attack. Annie scanned the room, looking for something she could use as a weapon. She could slam his head between the door of the mini fridge multiple times, but she assumed this was impractical due to its size. She probably wouldn't be able to get Ray in that position. She knew now that her friends had taken it upon themselves to make her disappearance known, so she figured if she was able to make it outside and talk to someone they would probably know about her. Either that or they'd just recognize how much she needed help based on the way she looked now, which if she had to guess, was pretty awful. All she needed to do was get out of this basement.

She needed that key.

* * *

><p>Jeff awkwardly walked up to the podium. The funeral home was packed with people, and many of them were not people Jeff recognized. Among the ones he did recognize were his study group, Leonard, Starburns, Dean, City College's dean, Annie's parents, his mother and Rich. He didn't even feel ill towards Rich anymore; he knew that Annie was his friend at the very least, and he deserved to be here. They all however, probably only made up around 10% of the people here. There were reporters, camera crews, and complete strangers who Jeff assumed were either Annie's relatives or simply people who were concerned about her whereabouts since the whole thing had started. He cleared his throat a bit, and took out his paper to begin his eulogy.<p>

"Hello, everyone. For those of you who don't know, my name is Jeff Winger. Now I know that we are all here for a specific person, but I feel the need to explain to you a few things about myself before I go on. I used to be a lot of things, including a lawyer and a pretty damn good one if you ask me. Public speaking is a skill that I acquired naturally, and it comes as easily to me as breathing. However, as of late, even _that_ has been difficult to do at times..." He sighed briefly and glanced at his mother before he continued. "I didn't have a great childhood. I'm not going to get into it because that is not important right now. The only thing you need to know is that it made shaped me into a person that conned his way into his career, and also made him vain, selfish and egotistical. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I'm still not some of those things, but I do know that I have come a long way. People here call me a hero for everything I've done in the past 2 years, but I beg to differ. I would rather call what I've done repaying my debt to a woman who, in only three years, made me grow more as a person than I ever have in 37 years of living on this planet."

Jeff took a look around briefly to survey his surroundings. He felt as though he was talking too much about himself, but no one seemed to mind. Britta gave him a knowing look and quietly gestured for him to continue. Annie's mother had started crying already, along with a few other people, including Shirley. Jeff scrunched up his paper and threw it on the ground. He didn't need it.

"Annie Edison was and still is, my best friend. She was incredibly bright and had a bright future. In the three years I knew her she went from being a naive young girl to a strong young woman who I admired every day. She had faced hardship in her past, just like me, but the quality she had that I lacked was compassion. Annie always knew how to make someone feel better, be it through smiling or just doing random acts of kindness without any expectation of reward in return." Jeff glanced up briefly at his study group. "Annie accepted people for who they were. She showed us that people could act however they wanted to. They could be weird and do things like make movie references all the time and associate them to real life, and that was completely fine. She showed us that no matter what religion you practiced, we can all come together as friends still. She showed us that even though some of us could be crude and inappropriate at times, it was always possible to be accepted anyway. She showed us that no matter how dim-witted you could be at times, it was easy to still be admired for your other, better qualities. She showed us that despite being outspoken and clearly wrong about things sometimes, it was possible to be respected. She even showed some of us that although we could spend our entire lives running away from our feelings..." Jeff began to choke up. "...it didn't matter. Because they were there, and ultimately, they've made me so much better than I ever could have imagined."

He was crying now, but started to wrap up. "I...I loved her. I loved her more than anything in this entire world. And my one biggest regret is not being able to tell her that. So like I said, don't call me a hero, because the reason I spent the last two years of my life looking for Annie Edison is because I didn't want to live without her. I still don't want to, but I will. We all will. Because I think we all know that's what she would have wanted."

Jeff went to sit down in his seat, not bothering to hide his own tears. Everyone in the study group was crying except for Abed, who opted to look despondent instead. Not wanting to see the empty casket being brought up to the altar, Jeff abruptly got up and left the building. He sat in his car and just looked out the windshield.

* * *

><p>Annie was finding it harder to keep up the charade of liking Ray. It had been almost 2 years now since she had been taken, and although 1 and a half of those caused her to become deluded and somewhat content, her new foundold feelings had since returned, and she found it harder and harder to act like she was still demented into admiring him. She had started crying again at night, and stopped eating as much. Ray must have noticed this, and his harsh demeanor had returned again. The abuse had started up again whenever she became despondent towards him, and his "special visits" had started to happen more frequently again as well. Annie wasn't going to let it keep up for long. She knew he was too strong for her to fight back, but soon she wouldn't have to. Plan A was obviously not going to happen now, so she had opted to try and kill him.

And she knew exactly how she was going to do it.

It was nearing the end of April by this point, and Annie knew that her friends were probably getting ready to graduate. The thought had made her cry a lot more as of late, as she had been looking forward to that moment for a long time. But she shook those thoughts out of her head. She needed to focus on the importance of today. This was it. This was the day she would escape. She just had a feeling, like today was meant for it to happen. She kept playing her entire plan in her head, and she sat down on her cot and relaxed her body. Annie knew better than anyone that if you wanted optimal results from something, it was important to approach it while calm and collected. In a strange, twisted way, today reminded her of a final exam of sorts, and she had spent the last 2 months studying. She knew exactly what she was going to write on that test sheet.

She was going to pass the biggest exam of her life with flying colours.

Suddenly the door unlocked. Annie wrestled with the anxious feeling she had in her stomach, and was prepared to put the wheels in motion. When Ray walked in, she smiled at him. "Hi, Ray. You look a little tired. Rough day at work?" He grinned at her. "You could say that, babe. So, shall we?" Annie stood up and walked over to him, bringing her mouth very close to his ear. In her best seductive voice she whispered, "You're exhausted. Maybe I should do all the work this time?" Ray looked slightly taken aback, but nodded nonetheless. Annie started to kiss him passionately, and felt his hands roaming all over her body. When both of them were stripped down, Ray had begun leading her towards her bed, but Annie had pinned him against the wall. "Let's try something more creative this time, sound good?" Ray smirked at her as he picked her up, turned her around and pushed her forcefully against the wall. Annie ignored the pain and wrapped her legs around his waist. She took a moment to look at his face. His eyes were closed in ecstasy and he had completely let his guard down. This was her chance. As he kept exploring her body, Annie used her free hand to reach up and pull the large metallic shower head that she had spent over 2 months loosening up down from where it appeared to be secure. Before Ray knew what was happening, she had struck him right on top of the skull with it as hard as she could.

Ray fell backwards, and looked completely dazed. She heard him mutter "You little bitch", but his eyes were still closed from the pain and he still looked a little out of it, so Annie took advantage of the situation. She straddled him on the floor and struck him again. He fought to get her off, but her legs were pinning his arms down and his strength was fading him as she continued to bash his skull in with the shower head. Over and over again she connected the harsh object with his head, with a strength she didn't know she had. She didn't even feel tired; she just remembered everything he had done to her. The life he stole from her. With every thought about him, about her friends and about Jeff that she had, she found more and more strength every time she swung the shower head. Blood had started to pour out of Ray's forehead, which Annie found fitting due to her having a similar injury when they first met. Now, this was their last meeting and the roles were reversed. She revelled in it.

Finally, over an hour and a half after bashing his skull, Annie was convinced Ray was dead. She took a moment to look at the blood covered floor and fell back against the wall. The tiredness she should have felt an hour ago was catching up with her, but she didn't let it stop her. She ignored how blood soaked her entire body was and threw her ragged clothes back on. She then went over to Ray's limp body and searched his pocket for the key. Her eyes lit up and she felt butterflies in her stomach when she felt the tiny metallic object in her hand. As she made her way to the door unlocked it, she took a moment to look back at her tiny room one last time. She started crying again, but finally these weren't sad tears.

These were tears of happiness. Tears of freedom.

Looking down at Ray's lifeless body, Annie smiled at him. "Sorry I can't stay, Ray. Like you told me when we first met, I'm going places." She closed the door behind her, making sure to lock the door for good measure.

Annie ran up the stairs. Despite knowing Ray was dead and the door was locked, she couldn't help but feel afraid that he would somehow be able to catch her. The stairs led up to a tiny shed that held nothing of interest. She took a deep breath before opening the door to the outside world.

The world that she hadn't seen for 2 years.

Instantly, the sun blinded her. Giving her eyes a few moments to adjust, she looked at her surroundings. Annie had never admired nature so much as she did in that moment. She was in what looked like a small backyard. The house in front of it looked somewhat modest in size, and she could hear birds chirping in the distance. She felt herself crying again but kept moving. She needed to call the police. She ran to the back door of Ray's house, only to discover it was locked. She frowned a little, only to realize she couldn't give two shits about this house. She picked up a moderately sized rock from his small garden and chucked it at the glass door. It shattered, and she unlocked it from the inside, throwing it open. She didn't even care to look at where he actually lived; she just ran to the phone and dialed 911.

When the operator picked up, she gasped for breath. Annie didn't even realize how tired her body actually was. After a few moments and a second "Hello?" from the operator, she was able to speak again.

"My name is Annie Edison, and I was kidnapped."

* * *

><p>Jeff was getting ready to go meet with Ted. It had been a long time since he was able to call himself a lawyer again. It felt surreal, and also a bit sad. The one person who deserved to see him like this wasn't here. Jeff shook his head and pushed those thoughts from his mind. He was supposed to be working towards a brighter future. That's what she would have wanted. He took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. He had spent the last 2 months working himself back into shape for today. After spending so much time working on Save Annie, he had gained weight, his hair had grown longer and he had a full beard. But now, he looked just like he did 2 years ago...or close to it at least. The one thing that hadn't changed though was his winning smile, and although he hadn't truly used it in a while, he knew it was important. That smile does things to people. As he was getting ready to leave his apartment, he suddenly felt his phone start to buzz. He grumbled a little as he picked it up. "I'm about to leave so make this quick." He was still frowning in disapproval until he heard who was on the other line. "Mr. Winger, my name is Officer Grant. I work in Salt Lake City Utah. I think we have someone here you might want to see."<p>

* * *

><p>Jeff didn't even know what to think as he was speeding down the highway. Of course, he was overjoyed. Britta sat next to him, and Shirley was right behind him in her minivan with the rest of the group. He looked over at his blonde friend. She was crying. He just smiled at her, deciding that this probably wasn't the greatest time to poke fun at her. The last time they were in a car together, they were driving to a funeral procession for a friend who as it turns out, was still alive. He could barely contain his excitement, and was surprised when he caught a felt tears running down his cheeks. Britta turned to him and smirked. "Jeff, you are such a sap."<p>

Officer Grant had told them to drive to a hospital in Utah, as Annie was being treated there. As the group walked up to the reception desk, the woman smiled at him. "Are you here to see someone?" Jeff smiled at her. "Edison, Annie". The woman looked down at her paper before directing them to her room. Outside the door, Office Grant greeted them and Jeff spent a good 5 minutes thanking him for all of his help. When all was said and done, they had permission to enter her room. Jeff placed his hand on the handle, but didn't turn it. He turned around and looked at the rest of the group. They were just standing behind him smiling. Britta looked at him knowingly. "Jeff, we've waited 2 years, we can wait a little longer. You two deserve to have this time together. We'll come inside to see her soon." Jeff thanked her, took a deep breath and turned the handle.

His heart broke as he looked at her sleeping form. She had bruises and cuts all over her body, and her face seemed to have a permanent frown, even as she slept. She looked extremely malnourished and her hair was unkempt. He didn't want to know what she had been through these past 2 years. He couldn't bear to think about it. He sat down next to her bed as the nurse came in. "You must be Mr. Winger. I'm not going to try and understand what you must be feeling right now. Ms. Edison has been sleeping for quite a while now, but her vitals seem alright. She is however, quite underweight and very weak. She should be awake any moment, so I will leave for you." Jeff just nodded to her and smiled as she left. Annie started stirring slightly in her sleep, and Jeff gently grabbed her hand. It felt calloused and extremely cold. He looked at her face and slowly whispered her name.

"Annie."

Her eyes slowly opened and she turned to Jeff. Jeff immediately started crying again. Although she looked so different, her eyes hadn't changed. It reminded him that she was still the Annie he knew. She smiled weakly at him. "Jeff..." He looked deep into her eyes. "I missed you so much. I thought you were..." he trailed off as she grasped his hand tighter, bringing him back to reality. "I know. I'm sorry. I can't imagine how worried everyone was about me." Jeff couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "Even after all this time, you're still worrying about making us upset." At this, she just giggled lightly. It was the first time she actually laughed in a very long time. Jeff suddenly grew more serious. "Annie...I put my life on hold to find you. I don't want you to get upset about that because I was glad to do it. It was all that mattered to me. I almost lost you, and I beat myself up over it every day." Annie frowned at him. "It wasn't your fault, Jeff..." Jeff shook his head. "I know, but I feel guilty still. I don't know why, but I do. Maybe it's because I thought I lost you without telling you how important you were to me." He trailed his hand up and down her arm, feeling the various bruises and cuts along them. "Jesus, Annie..." Annie was crying at this point, and Jeff couldn't tell if she was happy or sad. He started again, wanting to tell her everything he had been waiting to say for two years.

"Annie, listen to me. I love you. And I know that I should have said that a lot sooner, but I guess I still had some growing up to do. When I didn't have you in my life, I didn't want to do anything. I realized that you were keeping me going, and the thought of being with you was what motivated me to look for you. I created an entire movement called "Save Annie", because I wanted above all to see you again. I didn't think I'd be able to go on if I hadn't. And then...Britta convinced me that you would have wanted me to just keep moving on with my life. But Annie...it was so hard. Not a day went by that I didn't think of you. We even had a funeral for you because everyone thought that you had died. But...here you are...and I am the happiest man alive. I love you so much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Annie had slowly sat up at this point and just looked at Jeff. She didn't know what to think. After being in captivity for so long she was still trying to grasp feelings like love again, but she did know that she at least wanted to be with Jeff as well. It was the thought that motivated her to make her escape. She could barely remember what life was like before all this happened. But Jeff had just offered her a chance start over. She knew she had to make up for so many things, but she could tell Jeff was being sincere.

"Jeff...I'm kind of messed up..." Jeff looked at her sadly and sat on her bed, pulling her into a tight hug. "Annie, I know. And I don't care. I'll make sure you get better. Actually, we all will." And as if on cue, the rest of the study group had entered the room. Jeff was still hugging Annie, but he noticed that all of their faces fell. They all sat around her bed and Annie just started crying again, looking at all of her best friends, exactly how she remembered them. "Hey guys..." she started. "Um..."

"You don't have to say anything, Annie. We missed you so much. We're just happy you're alive" said Britta. They all pulled her in for a group hug. Annie just sank into them, finally coming to terms with the fact that she could move on with her life.

And for the first time in over 2 years, she didn't feel alone.


	6. Epilogue

**A/N:** I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews, guys. It means a lot as I just got into the fanfiction game. Here it is, the final part!

* * *

><p>"I just feel so alone, all the time."<p>

Annie was lying on her back while her psychologist smiled at her and patiently waited for her to go on. She had been going to Dr. Petersen every other day since she got out of the hospital a week ago. Jeff wanted to go with her, but Annie told him that this was something she needed to deal with by herself. He seemed to understand this completely, and dropped it without a single question. Annie admired that he was able to do that now; she never remembered him being able to do things like that before. He still offered to drive her to her sessions though, which Annie allowed without a second thought.

Annie continued while still staring blankly at the ceiling, "When I had moved back in with Troy and Abed, I found my room exactly as I had left it, and it seemed so comforting to me. But it wasn't comforting because I had my old room back with all my stuff and better memories; as weird as it sounds it was comfortable because it reminded me of the past 2 years in a certain way. I didn't cry or anything, but I just...I felt like I was back in that basement in a certain way. Somehow, just being in a confined space like that brings everything back. Not only that, but I found myself unwilling to leave and go into a more open area, even now that I have the ability to do that. Troy and Abed would both ask me repeatedly to hang out with them or eat dinner with them, but I just can't do it anymore. It feels like such a drastic change, so I do everything in my room now. I eat there, spend my free time there, I mean, I do everything there. Ironically, the only thing I don't do a lot is sleep, because of the nightmares. My friends all try to get me out of my room, and I will go sometimes, but when I'm with people now I just can't connect with them. It scares me so much, because I feel like no matter how much I want to I can't trust anyone now."

Dr. Petersen's expression hadn't changed, but he was writing something down in his notepad before looking back up at her. "Annie," he started, "Based on what you are telling me, it sounds like you have Stockholm syndrome." Annie wasn't really surprised at this. On some level she assumed she knew already, but one thing about the diagnosis confused her. "Doctor, if I have Stockholm syndrome then how come I was able to escape captivity? I mean, wouldn't I have just wanted to stay there forever?" He smiled at her again as he rested his notepad on his lap. "In some cases, yes you would have been content with your life there. But sometimes when suffering from Stockholm syndrome, a particularly powerful memory, or numerous powerful memories can cause the person to kind of reverse-relapse in a way. It's kind of like remembering an important time in your life that was lying dormant for a long time. Often times, this invokes an extremely powerful emotional response in the subject, which would likely explain your ability to escape. I can only deduct from what you have shared with me that your dormant memories that were being shut out of your brain had returned because of what you saw on your television that one day. The problem however, is that since those memories had caused such a large emotional response you quickly fell back into your current state, unable to grasp the reality of your past life."

Annie shuttered, as tears began to form in her eyes. Dr. Petersen handed her a tissue, and continued. "I do not want you to worry, Annie. Stockholm syndrome is not long term, especially since you are no longer confined to the reality you were forced to live in for 2 years. I can help you, but I need you to do what I ask. Recovering from such a traumatic experience is not something that will come easily, but I can assure you it will get easier." Annie sat up now, and nodded. "The first thing I need you to do is become reacquainted with your friends. They were the reason you escaped, so being with them and allowing them to help you is something you are going to need to be comfortable with. I'm not saying you have to feel anything towards them just yet, because that will come with time. All I'm asking is that you let them in." Annie nodded again, remembering how much effort all of her friends had put into finding her. "The second thing I need you to do is leave your room for a while. I don't even want you to be in there to sleep. Right now, being by yourself in a confined space like that is probably going to ruin the progress of your recovery. If you can, I would like you to perhaps move in with one of your female friends. Your friend Britta that you mentioned sounds like a good candidate if I can add my two cents."

Annie thought on this for a moment. She understood what Dr. Petersen was getting at, although he seemed rather reluctant to say it: He wanted her to stay with a woman so that she couldn't be reminded of her terrible experiences in staying with a man (albeit a horrible man, but still a man). She also knew he was probably thinking that staying with two men was even worse for her, even if they were just Troy and Abed. But he didn't know them, and even though she was gone from them for 2 years, they were like family to her. Heck, the whole group was like family to her. She wanted to stay with them.

"Doctor," she started, "I completely understand what you're saying. But if I may, I would like to maybe stay where I am right now. It's just that Troy and Abed were always like brothers to me, and I think that the only reason I don't want to be around them right now is because I'm afraid of reconnecting with them on such a personal level. But, I still remember all the stuff we used to do together. It's somewhat vague now, but I remember it. And I think I would love to be able to have those experiences again. Troy and Abed share a bunk bed in our apartment, and I think if I was able to sleep on it with one of them and the other one took my room for a while, I could maybe sleep at night again, and I wouldn't be alone."

Dr. Petersen looked to be in deep thought for a moment, before looking back up at her. "I understand what you are saying, and if you believe that this will work out better for you, then I am willing to let you give it a shot. Just remember that if you are still uncomfortable to talk to me about it." Annie smiled at him for the first time, already feeling like she was starting to get better. "Thank you, Dr. Petersen." He laughed a little as he stood up. "You can just call me Chris, Annie. Unless I am the world's greatest psychologist, this will probably not be our last session. But I think we have made some good progress today, so I will see you on Friday." He outstretched his hand, but then quickly retracted it. He knew she was still having trouble with some kinds of friendly contact, so he simply nodded his head before going to open the door for her. Annie smiled at him as she grabbed her coat, thanked him, and headed back to Jeff's car.

* * *

><p><em>1 year later<em>

Jeff sat amongst the large crowd of people in the Greendale gymnasium. If this had been any other occasion, he would have cursed himself for being here again _after _graduating. But this was a very important and special exception. As the Dean had finished reading off all the students with the last name starting with "D", Jeff felt himself getting nervous with anticipation. He looked to his left and right, and all of his friends had the exact same expression as himself.

"Annie Edison!"

As the petite brunette walked up to get her diploma, the entire gymnasium rose from their seats to give her a standing ovation. She noticed her study group in the front row, and felt tears in her eyes as she shook the Dean's hand. Even though Annie had been out for a year now, she felt as if she hadn't been able to move on until this moment. But now she finally had her diploma, and with it, an opportunity to finally move on with her life. It felt surreal.

Later that night, the group had gathered at Jeff's apartment to celebrate the occasion. It wasn't anything special, just a normal group hang out session. Annie was still not drinking alcohol, something which the group and her psychologist had prohibited her from touching. She was absolutely fine with it; besides, it didn't make the night any less fun. When Abed had fallen asleep on the couch, Britta and Troy volunteered to him home, slightly catching the suspicion of the rest of the group. No one however, had opted to mention anything. They could gossip later about the two of them anyway. Shirley then drove Pierce home about an hour later, leaving Annie and Jeff alone in his apartment.

They were sitting on the couch, and Annie had grown quiet. Jeff noticed that she was just staring at the piece of paper in her hands, and smiled at her. He then noticed that there were tiny wet spots forming on her diploma, and before he could say anything she spoke up.

"You know, there was a time where I didn't think I'd see this piece of paper," she said. Jeff remained quiet, allowing her to continue. "I never thought I'd get the chance..." she trailed off, and Jeff heard her sob quietly. He put his arm around her, and she relaxed into him. He then looked her in her eyes and smiled. "I am so proud of you," he said squeezing her hand slightly. "I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you, Jeff," she said quietly. Jeff broke his gaze and stared off at nothing. "Neither would I. I mean, I know I've told you already a thousand times but you mean so much to me. I didn't think I could have gone on without you. I am so happy you're here, Annie."

They just sat there for what seemed like forever, until Jeff had offered to drive her home back to her apartment with Troy and Abed. He knew that she was still rather fragile, and the last thing Jeff wanted was to pressure the girl he loved into anything uncomfortable. He knew that Annie loved him too, but she was still having a hard time coming to terms with it. In a way it reminded him of himself 3 years ago, except this time Annie had no control over it. He knew that she wanted to love him back, but she obviously couldn't just do that after what she had been through. Jeff completely understood this and was more than willing to wait. He'd wait for years if he had to.

But Annie shook her head, surprising Jeff. "I don't wanna go home, Jeff. I just want to stay here with you, is that alright?" Jeff turned around completely with a serious look on his face, taking her hands in his own. "Annie, are you sure?" Annie nodded, smiling at him. "Jeff, I know you're concerned about me and I really appreciate that, but I need to move on with my life. But the thing is, I don't want to move on without you. Today is a symbol of everything you've done for me, and I want to start being there for you too. Jeff, I..." She hesitated, but reminded herself that she could do this. She owed him this for everything he did to get her back on track. "I love you, Jeff. I really do. And I know that it took me a while to say it, but I think today made me realize how much I love everything you did to get me here. I don't wanna be the same girl I was 3 years ago. I don't wanna force myself to go through life alone again. I want to be there for you, Jeff, like you were for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Annie then removed her hands from his and wrapped her arms around his neck, enveloping him in a passionate kiss. Jeff reciprocated, before pulling away for a few seconds. "Annie, I've been waiting to hear those words from you for so long now and nothing can describe how happy you just made me. But I want you to know we're still going to do whatever's comfortable for you, becau –" Jeff was unable to finish his sentence as Annie grinned and pulled his lips back to her own.

"Just shut up, Jeff."


End file.
